The Baltimore Streetcar Museum (BSM) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

. It is located at 1911 Falls Road ( MD 25) in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The museum is dedicated to preserving Baltimore's public transportation history, especially the

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

era.

Exhibits and displays

Operating streetcars

During public operations, the Baltimore Streetcar Museum offers rides to visitors on various streetcars including:

Car #264

United Railways and Electric Company The United Railways and Electric Company was a street railway company in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1899 to 1935. In 1900, the company built the Power Plant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor to provide electrical ...

convertible model built in 1900 by the

Brownell Car Company Brownell Car Company was a horsecar and streetcar builder in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded as Brownell and Wight Car Company by Frederick Brownell and Andrew Wight in 1875 as a horsecar builder, and was renamed in 1879. It produce ...

. The car has hand brakes only.

Car #4533

United Railways and Electric Company One-Man Safety model, built as a handbrake two-man car in 1904 by

J. G. Brill Company The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearl ...

, rebuilt by UR&E as a one-man safety car in 1924, rebuilt again by BTCo as a Company rail conductivity testing car and renumbered 3550, lasting in service until 1963; Returned to its 1924 appearance in a recent Museum rebuilding.

Car #6119

United Railways and Electric Company

Peter Witt streetcar The Peter Witt streetcar was introduced by Cleveland Railway commissioner Peter Witt (1869–1948) who led the transit agency from 1911 to 1915 and designed a model of streetcar known by his name that was used in many North American cities, most ...

model, built in 1930 by J. G. Brill Company. A predecessor of the PCC car and about equal to one in every respect; In service until 1955.

Car #7407

Baltimore Transit Company Presidents' Conference Committee ( PCC) streetcar, built by the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

. At present this is the only regularly operating Pullman PCC in any museum. This car was built in 1944, and became the very last streetcar to turn a revenue wheel for BTC on November 3, 1963.

Car #2168

Philadelphia

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

PCC streetcar placed in service at the Museum in September 2009. This car was built by the

St. Louis Car Co. The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad Passenger car (rail), passenger cars, tram, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives. It operated from 1887 to 1974 and was based in St. Louis, Missouri. ...

for the

Philadelphia Transportation Company The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since ...

in 1947, and lasted in SEPTA service until 1992.

Car #1164

United Railways and Electric Company 12-bench open Brill 22-A model, built in 1902 by J. G. Brill Company. This car is also handbrake only. as of winter 2018 this car is under Restoration, due to return to service in summer 2020.

Car #554

Baltimore traction company car 554, a

9-bench open summer car built in 1896, this car is handbrake only, this car had a 5-year restoration completed in the summer of 2018.

Car #417

Built by the

Baltimore City Passenger Railway The Baltimore City Passenger Railway began operation on July 12, 1859 using horse-drawn cars. Oden Bowie was elected president of the railroad in 1873. Remaining Structures * Baltimore City Passenger Railway Power House and Car Barn, 1711-1719 Nort ...

as a horse car, later re-built as a cable car trailer, and finally into an electric car in 1895, is the Museum's newest restoration. This car operates on special occasions and is reported to be the oldest operating electric streetcar in America.

Santa's Streetcar

In December, the Museum holds a "Santa's Streetcar" event on two weekends, decorating one of the streetcars in Christmas finery as Santa Claus welcomes children.

Machine shop

The machine shop at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum is one of the largest and well equipped shops of any streetcar museum in the United States. In many instances, parts for Baltimore Streetcar Museum and other museums are custom fabricated.

Library collection

The Baltimore Streetcar Museum houses the library collections of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum and the

National Railway Historical Society The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of Rail transport, railroads. It is headquartered in Phila ...

(Baltimore Chapter), formally known as Maryland Rail Heritage Library.

Additional information

The Museum's website has detailed information about its operational equipment, as well as vehicles awaiting restoration (se
''Collection Highlights''
. Also provided are illustrations of surviving Baltimore area sites from the city's once-extensive streetcar network.

Volunteer operating staff

The Museum's streetcar operations is handled by an all-volunteer staff, composed exclusively of Museum members. Training is provided by the Museum's Training Department during a formal eleven week educational program. Recruitment is periodically advertised through the Museum's newsletter which all Museum members receive.

Museum rentals

The Baltimore Streetcar Museum is also available for private parties. The BSM's Visitor Center facilities feature an auditorium, the "Trolley Theatre," streetcar rides, and tours of the carhouse, where visitors view other historical transit equipment, such as an 1859 horse car, a crane car, and an electric bus, known as a trackless trolley or

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

History

The Baltimore Streetcar Museum was founded as a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

on June 8, 1966, by several members of the Baltimore Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society. The

City of Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-larges ...

agreed to build the museum and lease it to the nonprofit organization for one dollar per year. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 4, 1967. Opening day was August 30, 1968. The original Museum collection consisted of equipment used by the former

and Baltimore Transit Company (BTCO) services, which was held for a short time, the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and interpr ...

after Baltimore ceased streetcar service. The collection was moved from what was at the time Robert E. Lee Park, near Lake Roland, in 1968 to the present Falls Road

Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad , colloquially known as the "Ma and Pa", was an American short-line railroad between York, Pennsylvania, York and Hanover, Pennsylvania, formerly operating passenger and freight trains on its original line be ...

site and public operations began in July 1970. Before public operations could commence, many hours of volunteer work were necessary to build operating track and install

overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union of Railways for the te ...

which, at first, provided only a short ride for visitors. Over the years, the Museum has incrementally extended its line along Falls Road that includes now turning loops at the north and south ends of its line. Completion of the Museum's entire streetcar line was realized in October 2008 with the completion of its

double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

ing project, which took many years to complete. The

track gauge In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many different track gauges ...

continues to be the unique one used by original Baltimore streetcar lines.Baltimore Streetcar Museum
. ''Branford Electric Railroad Association''. Retrieved May 20, 2019.

Streetcar service

A track providing service at the museum is identified by the

Maryland Transit Administration The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MTA operates a comprehensive transit system throughout the Washington� ...

as LocalLink 25. At one time, the

route was the Route 25 line on Falls Road, past the current site of the Museum.

References

External links

Baltimore Streetcar Museum Machine ShopBaltimore Streetcar MuseumNational Railway Historical Society, Inc. (Baltimore Chapter)
{{authority control Museums in Baltimore Streetcars in Maryland Transportation in Baltimore Railroad museums in Maryland Museums established in 1966 Remington, Baltimore 5 ft 4½ in gauge railways 1966 establishments in Maryland Street railway museums in the United States Heritage railroads in Maryland